If you’ve gotta slay a dragon, it’s best to call in the Marines.

That’s what happens in "Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising."

In the M-rated squad-based shooter from Codemasters, you play as either a Marine infantryman or a special operations officer. In either case, you lead a fire team engaged in the liberation of Skira. The oil-rich island off the coast of Russia has been invaded by China and Russia has asked for U.S. help in liberating it, which is why you’re there.

The missions range from capturing key facilities to taking out enemy strongpoints to liberating prisoners of war. There’s a good mix of stealth attacks and intense assaults that keep the game fun and interesting. In addition, Skira’s a wide-open island and you can explore — and cause trouble — to your heart’s content.

The controls are generally smooth, though not always efficient. Squad commands are issued via an expanding ring of options. They are context sensitive, which means that, if you are pointing at an enemy, you get one set of options and, if you pointing at a squad member, you get another. This system normally works pretty well, unless you want to do something like fire an enemy while issuing movement orders.

My only major gripe concerns the vulnerability of some of the vehicles. For example, the Marines’ light armored vehicles provided virtually no protection. In several cases, I actually ran over enemies, who then jumped up and destroyed my vehicle with a few rounds of rifle fire.

The graphics are good, but not great. People and vehicles are well rendered and animated, though faces and buildings tend to lack detail.

In addition to the solo campaign, you can go online to liberate the island with a team of friends in an excellent co-op mode. A limited number of head-to-head options are also available online.

Overall, "Dragon Rising" hits a few snags but delivers a solid and very fun squad-based experience.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC

On the Web:www.flashpointgame.com

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